This invention relates to bolt seal protectors, and more particularly, robust steel housings for protecting hasps and attached bolt seals having a head, shank and lock body from tampering.
Cargo shipping vehicles such as trucks and cargo shipping containers and the like are subject to widespread tampering due to the value of the cargo. The vehicles and containers have doors which are locked shut with hasps and secured with locking seals. Such seals include a steel bolt having a head and shank which is attached to a locking body having a shank locking mechanism. When the shank is inserted into the body, a locking collet or other arrangement permanently locks the shank to the body. To preclude tampering, protective casings are provided to protect the seals. For example, reference is made to the above noted commonly owned US patents for the disclosure of various seals and protector devices of the type described.
In some environments, doors on cargo containers and trucks employ keeper bars. Such keeper bars and protector devices are disclosed for example in the above U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,010,166 and 6,009,731. Preferably a releasable seal is desired for such protectors to permit authorized users to access the cargo without breaking the seals. Such a reusable seal is disclosed in the above U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,878,604 (""604) and 5,732,989 (""989), for example, wherein the ""604 patent discloses an example of a seal protector using the seal of the ""989 patent. The seal protector must provide access for the opening tool and yet preclude access by tampering tools providing a conflict in design of the protectors.
Without such seal protectors, thieves may break open the seals by cutting the bolt shank with bolt cutters or by the use of blow torches. The protectors protect the seal shanks from such destructive devices and yet permit access to particular tools for opening the locks by authorized users. Pat. No. ""393 illustrates a bolt seal and a tool for breaking the seal.
Padlock protector devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,898,008, 4,033,155, 5,146,771 and 5,477,710. These are not satisfactory for cargo shipping containers and the like because the shackles are readily exposed for destruction by tampering. Further, these devices are not disclosed as operative with bolt seals of the type described above. While the seal protectors of the commonly owned patents noted above are satisfactory, various keeper bars on cargo containers and trucks have numerous different configurations. Certain of the above described devices also require modification of the keeper bar construction such as disclosed in Pat. No. ""731 in one embodiment thereof.
Various keeper bar assemblies, such as described herein in connection with FIG. 4b, used with the different cargo containers and cargo vehicles differ in many cases from each other. While they all have handles and hasps, the dimensional relationship of these assemblies vary among the different units. This presents a problem with providing universal bolt seal protectors for such different keeper bar assemblies. The present invention resolves this problem.
The present inventors recognize a need for a more universal casing that solves the above identified problems with the prior art seal protection devices for use on keeper bar type door arrangements.
A seal protector for protecting a locked bolt seal according to the present invention is for use with a bolt seal which comprises a shank, a head at a first shank end and a lock body for locking attachment to the shank at a second shank end, the shank for passing through a hasp having a first bolt receiving aperture, the hasp being coupled to a locking handle associated with the door, the hasp including a support bracket secured to the door.
The protector comprises a front wall and first and second side walls each extending from the front wall at a side wall front edge to a side wall rear edge and inclined relative to each other and to the front wall to form a space therebetween, the space between the side walls and front wall being one of a triangle and trapezoid, the side walls each having a slot in communication with the rear edge of each side wall for receiving the handle therein, the space having an open rear face distal the front wall for receiving the hasp therethrough.
A third wall is in the space and secured to the side walls, the third wall having a second aperture for alignment with the first aperture of the hasp received in the space. A fourth wall is in the space secured to the side walls and has a third aperture aligned with the second aperture and for alignment with the first aperture, the first, second and third apertures for receiving the bolt therethrough, the third and fourth walls defining a chamber for receiving the handle and hasp.
In one aspect, the side walls have top and bottom edges, the top edges being coextensive and the bottom edges being coextensive, the front wall extending to and between the top and bottom edges, the front wall being curved in the region between and attached to the front edges of the side walls.
In a further aspect, the side walls have rear edges lying in a plane, the third and fourth walls having respective rear edges located recessed in the space spaced from the plane for permitting the hasp bracket lying in the plane to be received in the space.
In a further aspect, the front wall defines a trough, and may be V-shaped or U-shaped.
In a still further aspect, the side walls are spaced apart a distance sufficient to receive the bracket in the space.
In a further aspect, the slots have a first portion that is trapezoidal at the side walls rear edges and rectangular second portion interior the first portion relative to the rear edges.
Preferably, the front wall comprises a planar wall of a first transverse width, the rear edges of the side walls being spaced apart a second transverse width greater than the first transverse width to form the space into a trapezoid in plan view along the plane of the front wall.
In a further aspect, further including a flange extending outwardly from each side wall away from the space. Preferably a flange extends from each side wall at a top and a bottom edge thereof either inwardly into the space or outwardly away from the space.
Preferably the side walls have top and bottom edges, and wherein each slot has a first portion in communication with its corresponding side wall rear edge, each slot having a second trapezoidal portion in communication with the first portion and interior the first portion relative to said rear edges, and each slot having a third portion interior the second portion and closest to the front wall, the first portion in a direction from the top to bottom edges having a height greater than that of the third portion, the second portion of each slot being inclined from and to each the first and third portions.
In a further aspect, the protector further includes a first flange extending outwardly from the first side wall and a second flange extending outwardly from the second side wall, a third flange extending outwardly from the first side and a fourth flange extending outwardly from the second side wall.
Preferably, the first and second flanges and third wall are coplanar and the third and fourth flanges are coplanar with the fourth wall.
In a still further aspect, the flanges each form an edge of its corresponding slot and form a continuous planar surface with the respective third and fourth walls.